Michael Fassbender Interview

Inglourious Basterds Interview: Michael Fassbender

I found out that you were one of the most memorable characters in the film, and the scene in the bar was especially vintage Tarantino.

Michael Fassbender: We did that scene over and over again for two weeks, and it never got boring. I had fun in the end with Hicox, and I think [Quentin’s] casting was spot on with Landa as Christoph [Waltz]. Stunning. And I really started to find different layers about Hicox and nuances about him and I really just started to enjoy expanding this character. And once I’d really delved into this George Sanders’ world, which Quentin sort of suggested, I found that there was so much wealth in those films and understanding people of the ’30s and ’40s and old movie stars.

Was there any room for collaboration?

MF: In terms of the script, you’d be hard pressed to come up with better dialogue than Quentin's, so everybody pretty much sticks to that. But it’s a rehearsal process, so you cover the things that he’s looking for, but he does give you that space to sort of throw something in of your own. If he likes it and it’s good, he uses it.

A few people had to play double duty, acting in different languages. How did you handle that and the various accents you had to speak in?

MF: I just studied Sanders for the English and also used repetition, just reading the script over and over again in that accent, and then for the German I had a really good German tutor. So I did sessions with her in the morning and taped them, then repeat, repeat, repeat on the cassette player. That was the work chore, between the English and the German drills. My dad saw [the movie] in Cannes and he said, “You don’t sound so bad, actually.”

What was it like working with Brad Pitt?

MF: He’s one of those unique talents and human beings, and he’s so generous and very complimentary from day one and very supportive. He’s one of the good guys out there.

How about with Mike Myers?

MF: I knew I wanted to take the comedy out of Hicox, and do something with that then you come up against this comedic giant and I thought, this could be kind of embarrassing. But Mike was just a dream, very sweet and we had a lot of fun and he kept in character most of the day and we did sketches and joked around between takes. He said it was nice for him, because for once he wasn’t at the helm of everything -- writing, producing, starring in -- so we had a lot of fun over the three days. And then Rod Taylor [as Winston Churchill] -- he’s a legend -- in the mix there as well, so I kept asking him about the glory days.

How do you think people will receive this film, especially American audiences who don’t generally like subtitles?

MF: I think it’ll put World War II to bed... I think it’s great how the French people speak French and the German people speak German. It makes it more real. And I think that’s what [Quentin] is great at doing -- that dance between ridiculous and real. You have everything in there -- tragedy, comedy -- but I think it’s really pretty obvious, if you really want to be true, someone of his stature, to pick these European actors and mix it up with American actors. I think it should appeal to an international audience. I think people can read pretty easily.

You were recently at Comic-Con to promote Jonah Hex with Megan Fox and Josh Brolin. And earlier this year you were at Cannes for Inglourious Basterds. What were those experiences like, because they’re such different universes?

MF: I think Comic-Con is owned by the fans and Cannes is owned by the filmmakers. And it’s a celebration of film, for sure, but within the industry. Whereas I think that Comic-Con, the fans rule. It’s their deal.

The scene overwhelms some people who go for the first time.

MF: I loved it, because these are the guys who are diehard fans -- so passionate about film and whatever sort of genre it comes from, comic books essentially. But you get the feeling that they’re all well-read and well-versed in all sorts of things. And it’s a rush when you go into an auditorium and there are 600 to 800 of these diehard fans all together and enthusiastic. It’s really cool to give something back to them if you can and they’re all so gracious as well. And Cannes is just this glamorous fanfare. Again, a fantastic experience, but there’s more exclusivity to it.